(Ecofin Agency) - Mobile operator 9mobile is stepping to win back the millions of subscribers who left its network when it faced problems operating under the Etisalat brand in 2017. Stéphane Beuvelet, the company’s Managing Director, announced an investment of $220 million to extend its 4G network in Lagos, Abuja, Aba, Nasarawa, and twelve other Nigerian cities.

The network upgrade investment aims at ensuring a high level user experience for its customers, including low latency broadband connectivity, and reduced redundancy to minimize the impact of downtime. 9mobile targets 100% coverage of the national territory with 4G over the next five years.

The company is currently the fourth largest telecom operator in Nigeria by market share. In a country that had 184.7 million subscribers as of December 31, 2019, 9mobile had 13.6 million consumers. The telecom company, which had 16.96 million in December 2017, lost 3.31 million last year.